NBA

2017 NBA Mock Draft: Who Each Lottery Team Should Pick

Brett Oswalt  —  @bRo14thekid May 18th, 2017
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7. Minnesota Timberwolves: Donovan Mitchell, SG/SF

Team needs: Off-guard efficiency, three-point shooting, defensive rebounding

I know, I know, Zach LaVine went down with an injury this season so give the Minnesota Timberwolves a break. The problem is, through three seasons, LaVine has just been a shooter, and an inefficient one at that. His nERD scores of -9.5, -4.6 and -1.0 in consecutive seasons leave room for some changes to be made. (Admittedly, the dude can dunk.)

In his second season with the Louisville Cardinals, Donovan Mitchell put together a PER of 21.7 with 28.1 points and 8.8 total rebounds per 100 possessions. He could certainly help Karl-Anthony Towns and the crew to improve upon their 29th-ranked defensive rebounding effort (31.0 per game) this season.

Based on the T'Wolves' measly 7.3 threes a game on 34.9% shooting, they'll take any help they can get on the perimeter. While Mitchell's 35.4% success rate isn't all that exciting, it's better than what the Magic delivered in 2016-17.

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